DENVER - Seattle U's Erik Barkaus and New Mexico State's Courtney Schultz have been named the Western Athletic Conference men's and women's Cross Country Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 24-30.
Barkhaus, a redshirt senior from Whitefish Bay, Wis. (Whitefish Bay HS), was earned another top 10 finish at a big meet, crossing the finish line in seventh place out of 101 runners at the Dellinger Invitational with a time of 23:56 over the 8K course. It was the first time he had run an 8K cross country race in under 24 minutes. He was just 18 seconds behind the race winner, and the only runners to finish ahead of him represented Oregon, BYU and Southern Utah.
Schultz, a senior from Cloudcroft, N.M. (Cloudcroft HS), posted one of her best career results when she finished second overall at the Rim Rock Collegiate Invitational with a time of 20:30.90, finishing just one second behind Rebecca Addison of Michigan on the 6K course. The race came down to a two person finish as the third-place finisher crossed the finish line 15 seconds behind Schultz, who became the second fastest runner to finish that particular course design.
Other Men's Nominees: Barry Britt, Idaho; Jonah Ruybalid, New Mexico State; Virgilio Martinez, UT Arlington; Mike Medrano, UTSA; Kyle McKenna, Utah State.
Other Women's Nominees: Hannah Kiser, Idaho; Hannah Mittelstaedt, Seattle U; Michelle Jones, Texas State, Hannah Nilsson, UT Arlington; Alex Litzsinger, Utah State.